Illuminated display device

ABSTRACT

A display device comprising a rotatably driven member and discs rotatably mounted thereon with illuminating means of different colors secured in desired patterns on said discs whereby selective energization of said member and said illuminating means results in varying displays.

atent n91 Jaffe, Jr.

States 1541 ILLUMINATED DISPLAY DEVICE [76] inventor: Morris D. Jafle,Jr., 300 Alameda Circle, San Antonio, Tex. 75212 [22] Filed: March 31,1970 [21] Appl. No; 24,284

[52] US. Cl ..40/34, 240/10.1, 40/1130 G [51] Int. Cl. ..G09i 13/30 [58]Field of Search ...40/34, 130 G, 130 L; 240/10.l

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,960,618 5/1934 Compare..240/10.1 1,803,596 5/1931 Craig ..240/10.1 UX 2,252,347 8/1941 Luthy..240/10.1 X 2,155,618 4/1939 Roberts ..40/130G 1,853,284 4/1932 Prosser..40/130 G X 51 Jan.2,1973

1,836,905 12/1931 Craig ..40/1 30 G 1,905,378 4/1933 Gechter "40/130 GUX FORElGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 392,055 5/1933 Great Britain ..40/130 G Primary Examiner-Robert W. Michell Assistant Examiner-RichardCarter Att0rney-J0hn C. Stahl [5 7 ABSTRACT A display device comprisinga rotatably driven member and discs rotatably mounted thereon withilluminating means of different colors secured in desired patterns onsaid discs whereby selective energization of said member and saidilluminating means results in varying displays.

7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTED A SHEET 1 0F 4 54 FIG. 2

MORRIS D. JAFFE, JR.

INVENTOR.

BY%--C,M

ATTORNEY FIG. 3

SHEET 2 BF 4 PATENTED M 1% INVENTOR.

AT TORN EY MORRIS D. JAFFE, JR.

PATENTEDJANZ ms SHEET 3 BF 4 FIG. 5

MORRIS D. JAFFE, JR

INVENTOR.

BY W Q, N

ATTORNEY PATENTEDJ/Wz 1915 3.707, 790

sneer u or 4 MORRIS s D. JAFFE JR.

INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY ILLUMINATED DISPLAY DEVICE The subject invention relates to anilluminated display device and more particularly to such a device whichproduces varying colored displays.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of an illuminateddisplay device which automatically changes the pattern of the display atfixed intervals of time.

Another object is the provision of an illuminated display deviceincluding a rotatably driven member with spaced and rotatable discsmounted thereon, each of said discs including a plurality ofilluminating means of different colors wherein selective energization ofsaid member and said illuminating means produce varying displays.

A still further object is the provision of such a device wherein saidilluminating means are irregular in shape and arranged in desiredpatterns on each of said discs to produce more varied displays.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent tothose skilled in the art as the disclosure is made in the followingdetailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention asillustrated in the accompanying sheets of drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the preferred embodiment ofilluminated display device of the subject invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, vertical sectional view taken on the line 2-2 ofFIG. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, enlarged, side elevational view, partly brokenaway and partly in section, of the drive means of the subject inventionwith the rotatable member extending vertically.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, enlarged, side elevational view, partly brokenaway and partly in section of another embodiment of the inventionshowing the rotatable member extending vertically.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, front elevational view showing the medial portionof the rotatable disc of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the switching means utilized in thepractice of the subject invention.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference charactersdesignate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views,there is shown in FIGS. 1-3 a preferred embodiment of the illuminateddisplay device of the subject invention. Display device 20 consists, ingeneral, of rotatably driven member 21 with rotatable discs 22-23mounted forwardly thereof in spaced relationship. As will hereinafter bedescribed, member 21 may be rectangular or circular in elevation and ismounted forwardly of supporting surface 24 which is conventionallysecured in housing 25 of desired configuration, size and composition.

Member 21 of desired dimensions and discs 22,23 of desired diameters arepreferably of electrically insulating composition. As best seen in FIG.3 of the drawings, longitudinally extending, hollow shaft 26 passesforwardly through bore 27 in supporting surface 24 and carries washer 28and cylindrical spacer 29 of desired length. Bore 30 in member 21accommodates the said shaft with collar 31 secured thereto as by meansof set screw 32 or the like. It is understood that member 21 is fixedlysecured to shaft 26 as by longitudinally extending screws 33 whichthread into collar 31 and member 21, respectively, or in anyconventional manner.

For purposes of convenience only, disc 22 which is rotatably mountedforwardly of and in proximity to one end or circumference of member 21will be described in detail; it is understood that disc 23 secured tothe opposite end of the said member is of similar construction. Pin 34(see FIG. 2) or the like includes shank 35 which passes forwardlythrough longitudinally extending bore 36 in proximity to one end ofmember 21; shank 35 carries'cylindrical spacer 37 of desired length andpreferably of electrically insulating composition and bushing 38 ofreduced diameter. Bushing 38 is press fitted or otherwise fixedlysecured in axial bore 39 in disc 22 and carries washers 40-41 on eachside of disc 22. Collar 42 is secured to the foremost end of pin 34 asby radially extending set screw 43 which is adjusted to bear againstshank 35 of the said pin.

l-Ienceforth throughout the specification and claims the termilluminating means is used in a generic sense and includes gaseoustubes, incandescent or glow lamps of various types and colors, arrangedin any regular or irregular pattern, and electrically connected ineither series or parallel on a selected disc.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3 of the drawings, the illuminating meanscomprise irregularly shaped neon tubes 44-45 which are secured in anydesired pattern on the foremost surface of disc 22 as by wires 46 or thelike which are passed through bores 47 in the said disc, partiallyaround selected portions of said tubes, and said wires twisted. Tubes44,45 terminate at each end in electrical leads 48-49 50-51,respectively; leads 49,50 connect while leads 48 and 51 are passedrearwardly through bores 52-53 in disc 22.

Concentric, electrically conductive rings 54-55 are conventionallysecured to the rear surface of disc 22; lead 51 is electricallyconnected to ring 55 while lead 48 is connected to ring 54. Contacts56-57 such as are well known in the art are secured to member 21 and thefree ends adjusted to make electrical contact with the respective rings54,55. More specifically, threaded member 58 is passed through bore 59in member 21 inwardly of bore 36; one end of said threaded member issecured to contact 56 by means of nut 60 while one end of wire 61 iselectrically connected to and secured to the opposite end of saidthreaded member by means of nut 62. Contact 57 is electrically connectedto one end of wire 63 in like manner. Wires 61,63 are then passedforwardly through bore 64 in proximity to collar 31 and thencerearwardly and completely through hollow shaft 26 as will hereinafter bedescribed.

Weight 65 is secured in recess 66 (see FIG. 2) provided in the foremostsurface of disc 22 intermediate rings 54,55; to minimize the possibilityof short circuiting rings 54,55 such weight preferably does not extendcompletely through the said disc.

As viewed in FIG. 6 of the drawings, shaft 26 extends rearwardly ofsupporting surface 24. U-shaped bracket 67 comprising spaced andparallel legs 68-69 and intermediate web 70 includes aligned bores 71 inlegs 68,69 which accommodate bushing 72 through which shaft 26 isjournaled. Leg 68 of the said bracket is conventionally secured to therear side of supporting surface 24 while washer 73 is carried by bushing72 intermediate the opposite leg 69 and pulley 74. Transverselyextending screws 75 are passed rearwardly through pulley 74 into collar76 which is carried on shaft 26; radially extending set screw 77 incollar 76 is adjusted to bear against shaft 26 fixedly securing thepulley and collar to the shaft. Belt 78 passes around pulley 74 andmember 21 is driven by drive motor 121 (see FIG. 6) from approximatelyfifty to three hundred revolutions per minute dependent primarily uponthe diameter of the member.

Longitudinally spaced and transversely extending recesses 79 in collar76 accommodate conductor rings 80-81 which are secured therein in aconventional manner. The remote end of wire 61 heretofore mentioned ispassed through an angularly extending bore 82 which surfaces in therearmost end of collar 76 and the end of said wire electricallyconnected to ring 81; in like manner, wire 63 passes through angularlyextending bore 83 in the said collar and the end connected to ring 80.

Bracket 84 or the like conventionally connects to the rear side ofsupporting surface 24; spaced contacts 85-86 are secured in proximity tothe rearmost end of the said bracket in such a manner that contact 85bears against ring 80 and contact 86 abuts ring 81. Wires 87-88connecting at one end to contacts 85,86, respectively, provide currentthrough the circuitry heretofore described to tubes 44,45.

It is understood that neon tubes 44',45 of regular or irregular shapeare secured to disc 23 and electrical connections made thereto in themanner heretofore described. Furthermore, although each of neon tubes44,45, 44,45 or other illuminating means preferably produce the primarycolors, various shades may be provided by painting selected portions ofsaid tubes or using sections of tubing of different compositions wherebymore than one color is produced by a single tube or the like.

There is shown in FIG. 4 another embodiment of the subject inventionwherein the electrical connections are primarily made rearwardly ofmember 21. More specifically, hollow shaft 26 heretofore describedpasses through bore 27 in supporting surface 24 and carries washer 89and collar 90 fixedly secured to the said shaft as by means of radiallyextending set screw 91. The said shaft passes through bore 30 in member21 with collar 31 secured thereon by means of set screw 32. Transverselyextending screws 33 thread into collar 31 and member 21 fixedly securingmember 21 to shaft 26.

Longitudinally spaced and transversely extending recesses 92 in collar90 accommodate conductor rings 93-94. In such embodiment, wire 61 passesthrough a bore (not shown) in shaft 26 and thence through acommunicating bore 95 in collar 90 and the end electrically connects toring 93. In like manner, wire 63 passes through a bore (not shown) inshaft 26 and communicating bore 96 in collar 90 and the end soldered orotherwise electrically connected to ring 94.

Contacts 97-98 are secured to member 21 by means of bracket 99 and areadjusted to make electrical contact with rings 93,94, respectively.Wires 100-101 connect respectively to contacts 97,98 and thecorresponding connections on disc 22.

Still referring to FIG. 4 of the drawings, there is shown anotherembodiment of the invention whereby disc 22 is rotatably mounted onmember 21 and electrical connections made to the illuminating meanscarried thereon. More specifically, longitudinally extending hollowshaft 102 of electrically conductive composition is press fitted orotherwise fixedly secured in bore 36 in proximity to one end of saidmember with collar 103 carried by the said shaft rearwardly of member 21and secured thereto by means of radially extending set screw 104 or thelike. Cylindrical spacer 105 of desired length is carried by shaft 102forwardly of member 21 and is fixedly secured thereto by means of setscrew 106. Bushing 38 is press fitted into or otherwise fixedly securedin axial bore 39 in disc 22 and carries washers 40-41 on each side ofdisc 22. Collar 42 is secured to the foremost end of shaft 102 as byradially extending set screw 43 which is adjusted to bear thereagainst.

Longitudinally extending conductive rod 107 of greater length than shaft102 includes an electrically insulating covering 108 and is carried inthe bore 'of shaft 102. Shaped conductor 109 is secured at one end tothe rear side of member 21 and the remote end of wire 101 connectedthereto. Connector 109 is bent outwardly to clear collar 103, saidconnector terminates in a closed loop 110 (see FIG. 5) which encirclesand makes electrical contact with rod 107. Spring connector 111 such asis well known in the art is secured to member 21 inwardly of bore 36 andthe free end adapted to bear against collar 103; the remote end of wire100 makes electrical contact with the said connector 1 11.

As best seen in FIG. 5, connector 112, similar to connector 109, issecured to the foremost side of disc 22 and makes electrical contactwith rod 107; it is understood that lead 51 on neon tube 45, forexample, connects thereto. Spring connector 113, similar to connector111, is adapted to bear against collar 42 and is remotely connected tolead 48 of neon tube 44.

There is shown in FIG. 6 of the drawings a schematic diagram of theswitching means secured in housing 25 rearwardly of supporting surface24 whereby member 21 is driven and the illuminating means on discs 22,23selectively energized. A ll0-volt alternating current is applied throughswitch 114 and fuse 115 to cycling, motor 116 such as is well known inthe art. Ganged switches 117-119 or the like each include a rotorl17'-119', respectively, which are synchronously driven by shaft ofcycling motor 116.

It is to be understood that switch 117 electrically connects to drivemotor 121, switch 118 connects to tubes 44,45 and switch 119 connects totubes 44',45'. Furthermore, the fixed terminals l-12 on switches 117-119may be electrically connected in any desired combination. In order toillustrate the operation of such switching means, fixed terminals 1, 3,5, 7, 9 and 11 on switch 117 connect to a first electric supply line.Rotor 117 of said switch connects to one terminal of drive motor 121 andthe second terminal of said motor connects to the second electric supplyline. Capacitor 122 connects across drive motor 121; when capacitor 122is shorted out, drive motor 121 runs at its designated r.p.m.; whencapacitor 122 is in the circuit, drive motor 121 runs at a substantiallylesser r.p.m. It is evident that when rotor 117' makes contact with openterminals 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12, drive motor 121 is not energized.

Selected fixed terminals on switch 118, namely, terminals 1, 2, 4, 6, 7,9, 10 and 11, and selected terminals on switch 119, namely, terminals 2,4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 and 11, connect to said second electric supply line.Rotor 118 on switch 118 connects to a first primary terminal of highvoltage transformer 123 while rotor 119' on switch 119 connects to asecond primary terminal of high voltage transformer 124. The secondprimary terminal of transformer 123 and the first primary terminal oftransformer 124 connect to said first supply line. When rotors l18'-119'make electrical contact with any of the selected connected terminals onswitches 118,119 current is applied to the corresponding primarywindings of transformers 123,124 and tubes 44,45, 44',45' on discs 22,23are energized. For example, when rotor 117' contacts terminal 1 onswitch 117, rotor 118' of switch 118 contacts terminal 1, and rotor 119'of switch 119 contacts terminal 7, not only is member 21 rotatablydriven but tubes 44,45,44 and 45 are energized. The pattern produced bydisplay device 20 is a blending of the colors produced by the severalenergized illuminating means.

As member 21 starts to rotate, discs 22,23 may rotate on theirrespective shafts, however, such rotation is checked with an increase inspeed of the said member thereby controlling the pattern of the display.

Terminal 2 of switch 117 is open, accordingly, when rotor 117' contactsthe said terminal the drive motor 121 is not energized but member 21continues to rotate at a gradually diminishing rate; at such timeweights 65 in discs 22,23 cause the said discs to rotate on their shaftswhich breaks up the pattern of the display. Furthermore, when rotor 118'contacts terminal 2 on switch 118 tubes 44,45 on disc 22 are energized;tubes 44,45 on disc 23 are not energized, however, since terminal 8 onswitch 119 is open.

Drive motor 121 is again energized when rotor 117' contacts terminal 3on switch 117 whereby member 21 is again rotatably driven; tubes 44,45are not energized when rotor 118' contacts open terminal 3, however,when rotor 119 contacts terminal 9 on switch 119 tubes 44,45 on disc 23are energized.

It is evident that the respective terminals on switches 117-119 may beso connected that member 21 is rotatably driven while the illuminatingmeans on either or both of the said discs 22,23 are energized; in likemanner, current may be applied to the illuminating means on either orboth of the said discs while member 21 is free wheeling.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing disclosurerelates to only preferred embodiments of the invention and that it isintended to cover all changes and modifications of the examples of theinvention herein chosen for the purposes of the disclosure which do notconstitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An illuminated display device comprising a rotatable member,

means to drive said member in the range of fifty to three hundredrevolutions per minute,

first and second discs rotatably mounted on said rotatable member,colored illuminating means secured to each of said first and seconddiscs, first switching means connected to said illuminating means onsaid first disc,

second switching means connected to said illuminatin mea son said seconddisc thir swltc mg means electrically connected to said drive means,

said first, second and third switching means each comprising a rotor anda plurality of terminals wherein selected terminals are connectedtogether whereby varying displays are produced upon rotation of saidmember and selective energization of said illuminating means on at leastone of said discs.

2. The invention of claim 1 including means to vary the rate of rotationof said member.

3. The invention of claim 1 including cycling and driving meansconnected to the rotors of each of said switching means.

4. The invention of claim 1 further including electrically conductivemeans on each of said first and second discs, and coacting means on saidmember to electrically connect said first and second switching meanswith said plurality of illuminating means on each of said first andsecond discs respectively.

5. An illuminated display device comprising a rotatable member,

first and second discs rotatably mounted on said arm,

a plurality of electrically connected illuminating means secured to saidfirst and second discs respectively, first and second concentric,electrically conductive rings on each of said first and second discs,.

first and second switching means connected to said plurality ofilluminating means on said first and second discs respectively,

a motor connected to said member to drive the same,

third switching means electrically connecting to said drive means toselectively energize the same,

said first, second and third switching means each comprising a rotor anda plurality of terminals wherein selected terminals connected together,

cycling means connecting to said rotors of said first,

second and third switching means whereby said rotors electricallycontact selected terminals on said first, second and third switchingmeans respectively and energize said illuminating means whereby varyingpatterns are produced.

6. The invention of claim 5 wherein said rotors of said first, secondand third switching means are driven in synchronization.

7. The invention of claim 5 including means to vary the rate of rotationof said member.

are

1. An illuminated display device comprising a rotatable member, means to drive said member in the range of fifty to three hundred revolutions per minute, first and second discs rotatably mounted on said rotatable member, colored illuminating means secured to each of said first and second discs, first switching means connected to said illuminating means on said first disc, second switching means connected to said illuminating means on said second disc, third switching means electrically connected to said drive means, said first, second and third switching means each comprising a rotor and a plurality of terminals wherein selected terminals are connected together whereby varying displays are produced upon rotation of said member and selective energization of said illuminating means on at least one of said discs.
 2. The invention of claim 1 including means to vary the rate of rotation of said member.
 3. The invention of claim 1 including cycling and driving means connected to the rotors of each of said switching means.
 4. The invention of claim 1 further including electrically conductive means on each of said first and second discs, and coacting means on said member to electrically connect said first and second switching means with said plurality of illuminating means on each of said first and second discs respectively.
 5. An illuminated display device comprising a rotatable member, first and second discs rotatably mounted on said arm, a plurality of electrically connected illuminating means secured to said first and second discs respectively, first and second concentric, electrically conductive rings on each of said first and second discs, first and second switching means connected to said plurality of illuminating means on said first and second discs respectively, a motor connected to said member to drive the same, third switching means electrically connecting to said drive means to selectively energize the same, said first, second and third switching means each comprising a rotor and a plurality of terminals wherein selected terminals are connected together, cycling means connecting to said rotors of said first, second and third switching means whereby said rotors electrically contact selected terminals on said first, second and third switching means respectively and energize said illuminating means whereby varying patterns are produced.
 6. The invention of claim 5 wherein said rotors of said first, second and third switching means are driven in synchronization.
 7. The invention of claim 5 including means to vary the rate of rotation of said member. 